Numbers in Shona
This page covers the subject of numbers in Shona and is primarily for those
unfamiliar with the subject.
Please Note: The Units Table shows cardinal numbers without reference to a subject. This is what one would say if counting using their fingers. The subject affects the way numbers are used. For instance: one person is munhu mumwe
Numbers greater than 10 are generally expressed as:
Number of Thousands + Number of Hundreds + Number of Tens + Number of Units.
|
Units
|
Typical Structure of Ten + Units
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 1 |
motsi |
| 2 |
piri |
| 3 |
tatu |
| 4 |
china |
| 5 |
shanu |
| 6 |
tanhatu |
| 7 |
nomwe |
| 8 |
sere |
| 9 |
pfumbamwe |
| 10 |
gumi |
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 11 |
gumi neimwe |
| 12 |
gumi nembiri |
| 13 |
gumi nenhatu |
| 14 |
gumi neina |
| 15 |
gumi neshanu |
| 16 |
gumi nenhanhatu |
| 17 |
gumi nenomwe |
| 18 |
gumi nesere |
| 19 |
gumi nepfumbamwe |
| 20 |
makumi maviri |
|
|
Tens
|
Typical Structure of Tens + Units
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 10 |
gumi |
| 20 |
makumi maviri |
| 30 |
makumi matatu |
| 40 |
makumi mana |
| 50 |
makumi mashanu |
| 60 |
makumi matanhatu |
| 70 |
makumi manomwe |
| 80 |
makumi masere |
| 90 |
makumi mapfumbamwe |
| 100 |
zana |
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 11 |
gumi neimwe |
| 22 |
makumi maviri nembiri |
| 33 |
makumi matatu nenhatu |
| 44 |
makumi mana nena |
| 55 |
makumi mashanu neshanu |
| 66 |
makumi matanhatu nenhanhatu |
| 77 |
makumi manomwe nenomwe |
| 88 |
makumi masere nesere |
| 99 |
makumi mapfumbamwe nepfumbamwe |
| 110 |
zana negumi |
|
|
Hundreds
|
Typical Structure of 100 +
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 100 |
zana |
| 200 |
mazana maviri |
| 300 |
mazana matatu |
| 400 |
mazana mana |
| 500 |
mazana mashanu |
| 600 |
mazana matanhatu |
| 700 |
mazana manomwe |
| 800 |
mazana masere |
| 900 |
mazana mapfumbamwe |
| 1000 |
churu |
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 115 |
zana negumi neshanu |
| 221 |
mazana maviri nemakumi maviri neimwe |
| 330 |
mazana matatu nemakumi matatu |
| 440 |
mazana mana nemakumi mana |
| 507 |
mazana mashanu nenomwe |
| 665 |
mazana matanhatu nemakumi matanhatu nechanu |
| 734 |
mazana manomwe nemakumi matatu nena |
| 886 |
mazana masere nemakumi masere nenhanhatu |
| 999 |
mazana mapfumbamwe nemakumi mapfumbamwe nepfumbamwe |
| 1000 |
churu |
|
|
Thousands
|
Typical Structure of 1000 +
|
| |
Shona |
| 1,000 |
churu chimwe |
| 2,000 |
zvuru zviviri |
| 3,000 |
zvuru zvitatu |
| 4,000 |
zvuru zvizvina |
| 5,000 |
zvuru zvishanu |
| 6,000 |
zvuru zvitanhatu |
| 7,000 |
zvuru zvinomwe |
| 8,000 |
zvuru zvisere |
| 9,000 |
zvuru pfumbamwe |
| 10000 |
gumi rezvuru |
|
|
|
Shona
|
| 1,010 |
churu negumi |
| 2,200 |
zvuru zviviri nemazana maviri |
| 3,540 |
zvuru zvitatu nemazana mashanu nemakumi mana |
| 4,400 |
zvuru zvizvina nemazana mana |
| 5,505 |
zvuru zvishanu nemazana mashanu neshanu |
| 6,006 |
zvuru zvitanhatu nenhanhatu |
| 7,700 |
zvuru zvinomwe nemazana manomwe |
| 8,800 |
zvuru zvisere nemazana masere |
| 9,098 |
zvuru pfumbamwe nemakumi mapfumbamwe nesere |
| 10,100 |
zvuru gumi nezana |
|
Submitting Shona Words
Help increase the Shona word list in the database for these Shona Language pages by submitting additional words I omitted and their meanings. Omissions may include instances where I did not cover all possible meanings of a word. In that case, treat the word as a new word and include all possible meanings for the word in question. Basic guide to submitting omitted words is on the Add Words page.
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Martin Shumba.